do they affect the balance or are they solely for ease of mounting? I got my new team dynamics with new yoko 100's installed on the car without the centering rings and there is a shake between 60-70 mph.

cheers
cenk

 

I've always used centering rings with my TDR PR1's (on second set in 5 years) and any after market wheel that needed them.

Either they could be slightly off center or the wheels were badly balanced.

 

They are there for ease of mounting to ensure that the wheel is centered when you torque the lugs down. Without them it is possible for you to torque them down when they weren't centered and THAT will throw them off balance......but after the lugs are torqued, the hubcentric rings don't play a part in keeping the wheel centered or balanced. It is possible to run balanced wheels without any hubcentric ring as long as you correctly center the wheel while tightening the lugs. I've run 2 years without hubcentric rings on my wheels without problems (they don't make the size I need).

It's entirely possible that the wheel is off center a bit. Hubcentric rings are cheap so you can easily order a set for a few dollars as it will make mounting them much easier. While you're waiting....take the wheel off and install it again. Be sure to tighten the lugs in the cross pattern to ensure that the wheel is on centered.

Pattern:

 

I called up these folks to get my hubcentric rings for my '88 325is and they were extremely helpful and I had em a few days later

http://www.1010tires.com/

Good luck

 

thanks guys, appreciate the feedback.

I followed that same mounting technique on the bolts. I already have the centering rings on order but will try to dismount and try again. BTW, I highly recommend dealing with Aaron at Outmotoring for mosty of your MINI needs. He was very quick to fix he issue for me and the rings should be here shortly.

I have a twenty mile commute and did bit want to add wear&tear to the front end. Left the car at home and drove the s4. Miss the MINI especially with the lightweight wheels and the nice non-runflat yokos. Will let you follks know when and how the issue is resolved.

 

I'm running no hub rings and they are balanced fine. If you are having issues, I'd recommended tightening them down in the sequence that Rally listed, however start all of them off hand tight. Then about 50 ft/lbs on all 4. And finally torque them down all the way.

Also, don't have all the weight of the car on the wheel while you are tightening them. For the backs, make sure the parking brake is set. For the fronts, either leave it in gear, or gently lower the wheel to the ground just enough so that it won't spin while you tighten it (what I do on RWD cars) yet it doesn't have all the weight of the car on it.

Hope this helps.

 

Oh, man. I'm sure that sucked. *sarcasm* Have any pics of both together?

 

I bought some wheels that the maker claimed were "lug-centric" and therefore didn't need centering rings. I had them mounted by a local tire shop that is used by the Acura dealer and generally has a good reputation. They told me I need centering rings, but they didn't sell them.

All seemed fine without them. I retorqued them after about 40 miles (as recommended for new aluminum wheels. Then I drove down CA 1 to Los Angeles from Carmel. About half way down, I started getting some vibration. It got worse as I went. In Los Angeles I took them to Discount Tire and had them spin balanced (thought some of the weights had come off). They said they weren't far off in balance, but I needed centering rings. The vibrations returned on the way home to Carmel Valley.

I bought aluminum centering rings for about $14 and installed them myself. No vibrations.

 

thanks for the input folks. Apparently the rings and the center caps are on their way from team dynamics. Really hope to get them in before the weekend.

 

it was horrible, how did I succumbed to that torture. Just kidding. It is one of the older b5 wagons. somewhat rare since it has the manual tranny and nogaro blue. no pics together, yet. here is one when we bought it. Wife was very happy with the purchase. Her first comment was that the clutch feels great, boy I am lucky.

 

Well hello Mrs's....

Sorry Ill take it to the singles thread

 

no worries thanks for the compliment. I think she is a hottie.

Got the centering rings and center caps on friday, THANKS AARON. Everyone needs to do more business with outmotoring. If you have not bought anything in a while, today is the tax stimulus payment day, call outmotoring.

Anyway the centering rings took care of a lot of the shake but not all. I will visit the discount tire at lunch.

 

wow, that is a pretty wife.

congrats on the wife, who cares about some centering rings.

 

thats right, hell with the rings.

 

did you ever get this resolved? I have the same problem starts at about 50mph and once I get over 65mph nothing . . .

I have centering rings - new wheels/new rubber/new balance . . . before I take back to shop was wondering of you had any success eliminating the shake . . .

 

dtm- place your front tires on the rear and see if that helps.

 

Thanks Kenchan! - I was going to try that tonight

Was going to do one side at a time . . . and test it.

 

switched 'em around - back to front - front to back - the ride is now wobble free!

thanks Kenchan!

 

Good job.

Thanks Kenchan.


Paint that on your chest.